Cade Lucas
As a paramedic, Werribee South’s Hayley Maher is committed to saving lives.
It’s a commitment that extends well beyond her work in an ambulance.
“I’m 36 weeks pregnant and come off the ambulance to do a community service role and one of the projects I wanted to work on was to get a 24 hour defibrillator down in Werribee South as we currently don’t have one.”
Ms Maher is holding a sausage sizzle this Sunday in order to raise the $3500 needed to buy a defibrillator for the coastal hamlet.
It’s a need she understands better than anyone and not just because she’s a paramedic.
“There’s a program I’ve been on called GoodSam which is where first aiders and people who know how to do CPR respond to community members in cardiac arrest,” she said.
“I’ve responded to four cardiac arrests in Werribee South in my own time in the last 3 years.
None of them survived but if I had a defibrillator it might’ve been a different story.”
While there is a defibrillator at the Werribee South marina it is not accessible to the general public.
Ms Maher said it’s particularly important that Werribee South have a public access defibrillator given its demographics.
“The population down here has high percentage of people over 55 who are at higher risk of cardiac arrest.”
Along with raising funds to buy a defibrillator, the event at the Werribee South Coast Guard building will also feature presentations and workshops on how to operate them.
Paramedics and Coast Guard personnel will also will be on hand to provide demonstrations on CPR, water safety, the GoodSam program and calling triple-zero in case of an emergency.
“There’s gonna be a firetruck and ambulance for people to explore and ask questions,” Ms Maher added.
“Anybody can come down.”
The Werribee South AED Fundraiser will be held at the coast guard building on the corner of Beach and O’Connor’s Roads from 10am to 12pm on Sunday January 21.
